Unexpected Feelings
by Senatsu
Summary: After accidentally bumping into Chaud one morning, Maylu finds her friendship with him gradually beginning to grow stronger. She also realizes that friendship might not be the only thing growing between them.
1. Chapter 1

Author's note: First of all: **TEH SPOILER WARNING!11** (OH-EM-GEE).

UNLESS YOU ARE KEEPING UP WITH THE SEASON OF MEGAMAN THAT IS CURRENTLY AIRING IN JAPAN, PLUS THE OTHER SEASONS THAT HAVE NOT YET AIRED IN AMERICA, THIS FIC **DOES CONTAIN SPOILERS.**

Now that that's good and done with… To be honest, I am downright amazed. This is the…third fic—out of what, the forty-some that I've started?—that I've actually finished. cries tears of joy It's a miracle. And it's actually a decent length for once, too. (Although one of the other two fics that I've finished doesn't even really count because I ended it in a semi-cliffhanger so I could write a sequel. Which, you can probably imagine…I never wrote. ; )

But yeah. Maybe it's because I'm just so in love with the idea of these two as a couple. I mean, it started as just a passing fancy: wouldn't it be interesting to see what Chaud and Maylu would be like together? But then the "passing fancy" ate ten gallons of Miracle-Gro and the next thing I know, it's taken over my mind. MY MIND, I TELL YOU. D:

cough Ahem. P.S. Oh, yeah! I own Rick, Sid, & henchmen. Everyone else not mine.

XOXOXOX

Maylu followed Chaud down the steps into the basement of the old building and into the maze of shelves and storage containers, feeling strangely at ease with the young Net Saver. In past times, there'd always been a slight feeling of awkwardness when he was around, but those days seemed to be over.

'Must be because Lan's gotten him to warm up a lot,' Maylu thought with a smile, striding quickly to keep up with him. 'Lan seems to have that effect on a lot of people.'

Chaud glanced over his shoulder at her as he pulled out his PET, which largely resembled an MP3 player of some sort. He had stepped over to a small net port that was attached to the dirty wall of the basement in a little niche.

"Ready?"

Maylu nodded, slipping her own personal terminal out of its carry case. In unison, the two of them pointed their PETs at the net port, and twin beams of red light burst from their mini computers.

Within the building's computer system, pink and red streaks of brightness soon solidified into a pair of net navis.

Roll and Protoman surveyed their surroundings, their eyes searching for whatever had been causing the disturbances people had reported, such as smoke pouring out of some of the building's windows, or strange noises emanating from somewhere in the structure's depths.

"See anything, Protoman?" Chaud inquired, gazing intently at his PET screen.

"Not yet, sir," reported the red navi as he paced forward, continuing to turn his head from side to side.

Hearing a sudden yelp of surprise from his pink companion, he whirled around to face her, expecting to see some virus that had appeared. Instead, he found Roll wincing and clutching the two semi-transparent, yellow antennae that encircled her helmet.

Confused, Protoman lowered his sword and cocked his head. "What's wrong?"

Roll opened one eye and looked at him. "Something just sent out a really powerful radio wave of some sort. My antennae are designed to pick up those kinds of things, and they got vibrated so hard it was painful!"

The red navi rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Were you able to sense which direction the wave came from?"

Straightening, Roll carefully considered the question. Then she nodded and pointed southeast of where they stood. "That way."

Protoman nodded and turned, jogging lightly towards the area Roll had indicated. The pink navi followed him closely, not wanting to get left behind.

"If that was a radio wave that Roll picked up, it must be a virus that specializes in the sound department," Maylu commented to Chaud as they observed their navis' progress.

The dual-haired boy nodded. "Which would explain the strange noises coming from the building," he added.

"But what do you supposes was causing the smoke?" wondered Maylu.

"I'm not sure. It could be almost any kind of virus, really. All they'd have to do is damage the computer system so badly in an area that the system's corresponding device in the real world would become dysfunctional, even to the point of breaking down and spewing smoke."

"True. Though what on earth could they want with a rickety old place like this?"

Chaud shrugged. "Hard to say. Probably nothing other than to tear it apart. Usually, unless they have an intelligent leader of some kind, like, say, a darkloid or a zoanaroid, their only purpose is to destroy anything and everything they can get their hands on. They don't really need a reason."

"Those without purpose can sometimes be the most dangerous…" Maylu murmured thoughtfully.

Chaud looked at her out of the corner of his eye, his interest snagged by her comment. What she had said was true. Those who did something terrible without reason would do it to anyone and everyone, anytime and anywhere, wreaking havoc without pattern and thus making them dangerously unpredictable. He wouldn't have expected such an observation to come from Maylu, who didn't seem like the kind of person who would understand much more than the next guy about the world of criminals.

'_But then again,'_ he reflected, almost smiling, _'appearances can be deceiving. You'd never think Megaman is one of the most powerful navis in the world if you were seeing him for the first time, pipsqueak that he is. Or that Lan is one of the best Net Savers, dense as he can be sometimes. I've sure learned _that_ lesson by now...'_

Meanwhile, Protoman and Roll had finally reached the source of the wave that Roll had sensed.

Viruses, widely varied in type, were clustered around a few large blocks of core data, and were attacking it viciously. Some were dealing physical blows to the data while others, those specializing in audio, were blasting it with wave after vibrating wave.

Roll's face was contorted with pain. She clutched at her head. The waves were coming more frequently now as the viruses picked up their pace, frenzied with the exhilaration of destruction. They were also even more powerful, now that she was up close.

Protoman glanced at her in concern. He didn't see how the little female navi would be able to attack in this condition, let alone defend herself.

"Perhaps your operator should log you out," he suggested, keeping his voice low to avoid catching the attention of the viruses.

"Actually, I've got a better idea," Maylu said to them, her fingers working the controls of her PET. "Roll, I've gone into the settings and toned the sensitivity of your antennae way down. You should be okay now."

Roll's hands dropped to her sides, and her features eased in relief. "Much better."

Then she sank into a battle stance, and Protoman smiled slightly. He should've had more faith in Maylu's intelligence. After being acquainted with her for as long as they had, he and Chaud both knew that, while she lacked the caliber of skill that the Net Savers possessed, she was no dunderhead. Nor was she a coward.

Leaping into the air, Roll touched her fingers to her lips and then thrust her hand outward, as if throwing a Frisbee. "Roll Blast!"

Protoman dashed into the midst of the virus swarm, his sword darting back and forth as it cut down the enemy one by one.

The area became a blur of pink and red as the two navis jumped and rolled and sprinted around, slowly taking out the herd.

However, just as it seemed they were on the verge of clearing the system completely, the air above them blurred and twisted, morphing into a tunnel. Out poured a stream of new viruses. These were all electricity-based, Roll could see. She jumped backwards just in time to avoid being landed on by a few of them.

A few of the viruses split off from the group and climbed onto the core data, where they shoved their spiked arms into the shell of the data and began sending pulses of electricity into it.

The rest attacked Roll and Protoman, preventing the two from reaching the core data.

"Aqua Tower! Battle chip in and download!"

"Variable Sword! Battle chip in and download!"

Roll spun on her toes. Then, smiling, she cried "Aqua Tower!" and slammed her hand onto the ground. A giant gush of water burst forth and slid away from her, deleting all the viruses in its path.

"Sonic Boom!" Protoman slashed through the air with the sword, and a wide arc of power shot off.

"Protoman!" Roll cried, looking at the core data and the viruses ravaging it. "I don't think we're going to make it in time to save the system!"

Protoman's head whipped around to follow her gaze and found that she was right. The core was glowing a dangerous red and pulsing sickly.

"Chaud!" he hollered above the chaotic sound of battle. "Get away from that net port! The core looks like it's gonna blow any second!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chaud gritted his teeth in frustration, but pointed his PET at the port as Maylu did, and they jacked out their navis. Then they both turned and sprinted away from the port.

Hearing a warning noise issued by the computer, Chaud suddenly pushed Maylu to the ground and covered her body with his own. Just then, there was a resounding crash from behind them as the port exploded, along with other bits of machinery that had been attached to it.

Chaud felt pieces of flying debris hit his back and legs, and was glad for the protection his clothing provided him with, though he suspected he might have a few small bruises tomorrow.

As soon as he was sure that the chaos had settled, he pushed himself to his knees and gently touched Maylu's arm.

"You alright?"

Maylu laughed a little as she rolled onto her back and then struggled into a sitting position. "I've been better," she said, brushing dirt off of her vest, "but then again, I've also been worse." She winced slightly as one hand brushed her abdomen. "I don't think I'll be wearing any tops that show my stomach for the next few days," she told him. "Black and blue skin isn't exactly fashionable…"

Chaud chuckled slightly. "Well, I'm sure you must not be hurt too badly, if you're attempting humor."

He got to his feet and offered her a hand, which she accepted, allowing him to pull her up. However, just as Chaud was about to re-figure out where the stairs were, the lights flickered and died. The two were left in absolute blackness.

"…Well, that throws a wrench in things," Chaud said finally.

"Not really," Protoman commented, smirking at his net op's lapse in memory.

"What do you--...oh…" Chaud said, feeling rather foolish. "Lan's stupidity must be getting to me," he muttered darkly, fumbling in his vest pocket.

Maylu giggled. "It was going to happen sooner or later," she added teasingly. "All of Lan's close friends and family have experienced it at some point in time. You just managed to hold out longer than most." Then, unable to see Chaud in the dark, she asked, "What are you doing?"

"Pulling out a pair of night-vision glasses," he told her as he unfolded them and slid them over his eyes. "It's a recent addition to the Net Saver 'tool set,' so to speak."

"Lucky for us."

"No kidding. Guess Famous really does have a knack for providing things when they're needed."

Chaud fingered the glasses just to this side of his left eye and turned on the power. Instantly, the room became visible, though it all looked green because of the way the glasses worked. The boy turned to Maylu.

"Reach towards my voice," he said. "I'm going to grab your hand so I can lead you out of here."

Obediently, Maylu extended her arm in his direction, and he grasped her hand in his own. Then, turning his gaze left and right, he located the stairs and took a step forward, gently tugging at Maylu. She followed him with a step of her own, and soon the two were making careful progress towards the exit.

"Watch it, there's a few pieces of pretty big debris in the path," he said. "We're about to step over them." He cleared the obstacle and then turned to make sure she could get over it.

Maylu found that her face was growing hotter by the minute. Her hand, she had noticed, fit perfectly into Chaud's, much more than it ever had in Lan's. It felt so comfortable, to let him guide her along this way. She was guiltily surprised to find that she almost wanted them to get lost on the way to the stairs, just so he wouldn't let go of her yet.

As the minutes passed, Chaud seemed to be having a similar dilemma. For the first time in years, his ears were beginning to burn in an embarrassed fashion. Unlike Yai or Anetta, who were each annoying in their own ways—though he considered Anetta a friend, she did still manage to get on his nerves sometimes—it seemed natural to have Maylu at his side. She didn't rub him the wrong way at all. She was intelligent, and humorous, and didn't seem at all frightened by what had just happened. After all, she'd been through worse plenty of times. He should know; he'd been with her for a few of those times.

Which was probably why he hadn't noticed her to this degree before now. All the previous situations they'd been involved in had been much more complicated and stressful, such as when they'd been working together to stop the local net navis from being kidnapped, back when Protoman had become a darkloid. Or the time they, along with Lan, Raika, and Dingo, had been sucked into the world of Beyondard. They'd all become separated during the travel to Beyondard, and Chaud and Maylu had ended up together. Then, their focus had been on finding the others and getting home.

In other words, they'd had little time to consider each other.

Though now that he thought about it, Chaud realized, there were few things he could remember enjoying as much as he had enjoyed traveling alongside the cherry-haired girl. She might not be as skilled as Raika or Lan, but she made an excellent teammate nonetheless, and a friendly one at that. The thought made him more embarrassed than he was already, and he was glad for the darkness that hid his red ears.

Maylu was wondering what on earth could possibly be wrong with her. After all, she liked Lan…didn't she? Hadn't it been one of her main goals, for the past year or two, to get him to ask her out? And yet here she was, butterflies taking over her stomach as though she were some fourth grader, having a crush on a boy for this first time. Maybe it was just the aftershock of the explosion that was wreaking havoc with her mind…? But even as the thought formed, she found that she knew that wasn't the reason at all.

"Ah…well, here are the stairs," said Chaud, not sure whether he was relieved or disappointed that they would soon be outside.

He put his foot on the first step and tightened his grip on Maylu's hand, not wanting to accidentally let go if she were to begin to fall. Moments later, they were at the top. Chaud pushed open the door, and the two of them squinted as their eyes readjusted to the lights.

"Well, this day has turned out to be a lot more interesting than I thought it'd be when I bumped into you this morning," said Maylu, reluctantly removing her hand from Chaud's and busying herself by brushing any remnants of dirt or dust off of her clothing.

Chaud gave her a lopsided smile. "Yeah, well, what did you expect? Excitement seems to have a knack for finding our group." The palm of his hand felt cold where Maylu's warmth was now absent, and he shoved both hands into the pockets of his pants—not an unusual thing for him to do—in order to ignore that thought.

"Or we all have a knack for finding excitement," the girl added. Then she yawned and stretched. "Some ice cream sure would hit the spot right now," she said, glancing at Chaud. "I think I'm gonna go get myself some." She hesitated; then added, "Would you like to come?"

Chaud blinked in surprise at the offer. But then, realizing he had never been invited to do anything with her before—not to mention the fact that Lan kept telling him he needed to get out more—he decided to accept.

"Sure," he said. "I could go for a little ice cream myself."

XOXOXOX

"Those two…" said a voice, the owner of which had been watching the whole incident with a hidden set of cameras, "…will be perfect."

XOXOXOX


	3. Chapter 3

"Aw, maaan," Lan whined, walking next to Maylu as the left the school building. "I can't believe we're gonna have another math test already."

"Already?" Maylu repeated, raising an eyebrow. "Lan, our last test was two weeks ago!"

"Exactly! We should only have one a month," he grumbled. "Heck, we should only have one a year. Better yet, none at all."

Maylu just rolled her eyes. "Dream on, Lan."

Lan was about to retort when he noticed a glimmer of black out of the corner of his eye.

"Hey, that looks like Chaud's limo," he said, stopping.

Maylu halted next to him and turned to look. Sure enough, a sleek black limo had pulled up to the sidewalk next to them, and the chauffer was now stepping out.

"Ms. Sakurai?" he inquired politely, looking directly at Maylu.

"Yes?" she said, not looking nearly as surprised as Lan had thought she would.

"I'm here to pick you up, as requested by Mr. Blaze," he said, bowing slightly.

She smiled and bowed slightly in return. "Thank you very much."

The man pulled open the door at the rear end of the car and gestured.

Lan looked from Maylu to the car and back again in confusion. "What the heck…?" he said finally. "What's going on?"

"There are a few things I still don't completely understand from the math unit we're in right now," the girl explained as she slid into the car. "I wanted to make sure I get it all figured out before the test tomorrow."

"But…what does that have anything to do with Chaud sending you a limo?"

Maylu smirked at him. "Chaud is going to help me study."

Lan's jaw dropped so far that he was amazed he couldn't feel his chin scraping against the sidewalk.

"He's WHAT!"

And then, of course, after the initial shock wore off, there was always the other problem…

Lan's face grew horrified as said problem dawned on him.

"But you always study with _me_ before a test!"

Maylu rolled her eyes. "Lan, you always end up getting online to netbattle with Megaman while I sit in your room looking over my notes by myself. I'd hardly call that studying with you."

And with that, she moved completely into the car. The chauffer shut the door after her. He then returned to his position at the driver's seat, and Lan was left to stare at the car in utter disbelief as it drove away.

XOXOXOX

Maylu couldn't help but snicker quietly to herself as she thought about the look on Lan's face when she'd told him who she was going to see and why. It was too bad she hadn't had her camera with her.

XOXOXOX

When the limo finally arrived at the building where Chaud worked, the blue-eyed boy was waiting for Maylu at the front doors. Upon spotting him, Maylu grinned.

"It's too bad you weren't there to see Lan's face when I told him what I was doing," she said.

Chaud couldn't resist smirking slightly. Then he gestured towards the building. "C'mon, let's head inside. The sooner you're done studying, the more free time you'll have later."

Maylu nodded, and together they walked through a large pair of double doors and into the lobby.

As they moved towards an elevator with Chaud leading the way, he inquired, "So, any particular way you want to go about this?"

"Well, Ms. Mari gave us a review sheet to work on…"

"Do you know how to do some of it?" Chaud asked.

Maylu nodded. "Yeah, I can do most of it, I think, but there's a few problems that just don't make sense to me."

"Actually, I've got some schoolwork I need to do too," explained the boy.

Maylu blinked. She kept forgetting that Chaud was a student, too.

"There's an empty meeting room on one of the upper floors that we can use. You can get started on your sheet, and I'll work on my stuff until you get stuck and need help. Fair enough?"

"Sounds good to me," she said. "Actually, almost any option would sound good compared to Lan's idea of studying."

Chaud shook his head. "I can imagine. How have you survived this long?"

Maylu grinned. "I'm tougher than your average girl. It'll take more than a few years of study sessions with Lan to break me."

XOXOXOX

Despite intent concentration on her math, Maylu couldn't help but glance over at Chaud every so often, which was easy enough because his chair was right next to hers. (This made it easier for him to reach her when she needed help.)

She found herself fascinated by the way he worked, completely absorbed in what he was doing. Lan had never been that way when it came to school, and probably never would be. She watched Chaud's pencil scraping across the paper rapidly, pausing occasionally to erase and rewrite something. For some reason, the actions seemed to humanize him, and Maylu felt something inside of her twist strangely.

"Ah…here's one I don't understand," she said, after a time.

The dual-haired boy tucked his pencil behind his ear as he turned to her.

Maylu found the gesture oddly adorable. She felt her face beginning to grow warm, and hoped fervently that her cheeks didn't look pink. To her dismay, the heat grew stronger as Chaud leaned close to her so he could see her paper more clearly.

"Well, first of all," he said finally, pulling his pencil from his ear, "you're looking for the number of favorable outcomes versus the number of possible outcomes. Do you have scratch paper I can use, or should I grab some?"

Maylu pulled a blank paper from her folder and slid it over to him. She watched and listened closely as he pointed to certain numbers from the problem and wrote them on the scratch paper, slowly manipulating the numbers into a solution as he explained the process. Maylu mimicked the steps he gave her; then indicated a similar problem farther down on the worksheet.

"So…if there are a hundred rabbits being given out randomly to a hundred people, and I want to know how likely it is that a person will get a brown rabbit, I put the…number of brown rabbits over the…total number of rabbits?" she said hesitantly.

"You've got it," he affirmed, smiling slightly in approval.

Maylu felt a pleasant warmth tingle inside of her. "Thanks for helping me," she said, feeling suddenly shy.

"No problem," he replied as he turned away, for all the world looking as though he hadn't been interrupted in his own work at all. But if Maylu had examined him closely, she might have noticed that the tips of his ears had reddened just the tiniest bit.

XOXOXOX

" I got an A!"

Maylu punched the air victoriously. Her parents would be so happy. She couldn't wait to tell them.

"…I got a C," Lan said glumly, staring at his math test as though he could somehow use mental will to change the poor grade he'd been given.

"That's what you get for slacking off," Maylu retorted, not feeling the least bit sorry for him. What kind of results did he expect from something he put little or no effort into?

A sudden thought hit her. She pulled out her PET. "Roll?"

"Yeah?"

"Send a message for me, will you?"

XOXOXOX

Ding.

"Chaud, sir, you have mail," Protoman said as a digital envelope slid out of a cyber portal and landed in his hands.

"Who's it from?" the dual-haired boy asked, slipping the PET out of its carry case.

"It's from Maylu."

Chaud blinked. "Put it on screen," he said at last.

Obediently, the red navi opened the e-mail and enlarged it so that he was hidden behind a sheet of white.

Chaud's eyes flicked over the words.

"_Thanks so much for all your help. _

_Guess what? I got an A!"_

This sentence was followed by a snapshot of Maylu sticking her tongue out cutely and making a victory sign with her fingers.

"_Maybe we can do it again sometime._

_Maylu"_

A slight smile spread across his face. _'Yeah, maybe…'_

XOXOXOX


	4. Chapter 4

As time passed, the study sessions did indeed continue—much to Lan's dismay. Still, there wasn't really anything he could do about it. Not after having years upon years to prove to Maylu that studying with him was worthwhile, and yet never bothering to try.

Surprisingly, Chaud enjoyed the sessions as much as Maylu. Having been privately tutored for as long as he could remember, it was a nice change of pace to have some scholarly interaction with another student his age. Her lightheartedness and sense of humor made time seem to fly by much faster than it did when he worked on his own, though logically, his work took him longer to finish during the sessions because he'd have to stop every so often to help Maylu with something.

On one particular day, the studying was taking longer than usual, as Maylu's finals were drawing quite near. She was thus forced to review all that she had learned so far during the year. The two students, growing tired of sitting indoors going over loads of old worksheets and packets, had opted to take a walk through the city and grab a bite to eat somewhere.

"Hey, maybe we should try that place!" said Maylu as they passed a place called "Chez Snootay." Then, as Chaud paused next to her to glance at her suggestion, Maylu giggled and said, "Oh wait, I forgot. You don't go there anymore."

Puzzled, the boy looked more closely at the restaurant. Seeing the large TV monitors that were mounted on buildings nearby, a vague memory of running into Lan and company here dawned on him. This was the place he'd tried to fight Lan, only to be interrupted by a hoard of viruses.

"Let's see, what did you say?" Maylu said, a mischievous glint in her eye. "Oh yeah…" Here she paused and stuck her nose in the air while lowering her voice. "'…If this place serves third-rate companies like Ayano Tech, then I won't be coming back.'"

Chaud felt his face flush slightly in embarrassment. Had he really said that? He sounded like a complete prick. Heck, at that time, he _was_ a complete prick.

"I think that was the only time you ever really made me mad," Maylu said, suddenly serious. "I mean, I knew you were stuck up, but so was Yai. I was used to it. But that night…that night, you said some really cruel things and made Yai cry. I was about ready to conk you over the head with a frying pan or something."

Chaud couldn't bring himself to look at his companion. She was absolutely right. Every cutting, scornful comment he'd made that night had suddenly come back to haunt him. His newly revived conscience was asking him how such harsh, condescending words could ever have come out of his mouth, especially since they were directed at people who may have been his rivals but had never actually harmed him or done anything to deserve being treated that way.

"Hey," said Maylu, pulling his attention away from the past as she lightly touched his arm. "Sorry. I didn't mean to send you on a guilt trip."

Chaud shook his head. "It's not like I didn't deserve it," he said, giving her a small, lop-sided smile. "I said some pretty nasty things, and I was way outta line."

"But that's all in the past, right?" Maylu said, tilting her head and looking up at him with a warm expression. "I'm just…really glad you're not like that now."

'_So am I,'_ thought Chaud as the two continued along the sidewalk, searching for somewhere to dine that didn't hold such unsavory memories.

XOXOXOX

Maylu tilted her head backwards and looked up at the tall building that stood before her, wondering why Chaud had chosen the Fitness Center to meet her at. Especially since it was closed today. There weren't even any staff members around.

Just a few hours earlier, she'd received an e-mail from him telling her to come here at 3:30, because there was something he wanted to show her.

Continuing to study her location, she was startled when a deep voice came from behind her, saying, "Good afternoon."

She jumped a little and turned to face the speaker. "Um…good afternoon," she said, her face puzzled. "I'm sorry; do I know you?"

The man chuckled and shook his head. "Nah. I just saw you looking a little out of place and thought I'd say hello. I take it this isn't somewhere you visit often?"

Maylu shook her head. "You're right. Actually, I don't think I've ever been here. But a friend of mine asked me to meet him, so here I am."

"Indeed, here you are," said the man in a strange tone, smiling and tugging the brim of his hat down over his eyes. "So…are you and he close?"

Maylu blinked. "What?"

"You and that friend of yours. Are the two of you close?"

Finding the question awkward, Maylu felt heat rise in her face. "Uh…well, more so now than in the past, I guess…" she said, hoping she didn't sound as embarrassed as she felt. "That is…I mean…we didn't used to be friends…"

"Ah, I see how it is," the man said, chuckling again.

"See how what is?" Maylu said, her defenses rising—as well as her embarrassment.

"Now, now, don't get up in arms," he said, putting his hands up, palms facing her. "I'm just teasing you." Suddenly, he leaned towards her slightly and squinted. "Huh, looks like you have a smudge of something on your nose," he told her with a grin. "Here, let me help you with that." He fished in his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief, which he then brought to her face.

Just as Maylu was getting ready to back away, having become suspicious of the way he was acting, he clamped the fabric of the handkerchief over her nose. With the palm of his hand, his pressed the rest of the material up against her mouth. She tried to yank her head away, but his grip was too strong. She felt her strength evaporating, and the world was growing dark. Within moments, she'd blacked out, collapsing into the waiting arms of the strange man.

The man smiled darkly. He scooped the victim up and began carrying her towards the tall building she'd been gazing at only minutes earlier.

XOXOXOX

Chaud squinted in the bright sunlight as he stepped out of the dark interior of his car. He had to admit, he was curious about Maylu's reasons for asking him to meet her here. Her message had said to be at the Fitness Center at 4:00 because she had a surprise for him. What on earth could she have in mind?

He strolled leisurely along the sidewalk, glancing from side to side to see if he could spot her. But before he'd been looking very long, he was interrupted by a voice from his PET.

"Uh…Chaud, sir…"

Chaud pulled out the device and looked at the screen. To his surprise, standing next to Protoman was Roll. The little pink navi, he realized, looked extremely frightened.

"What's going on?" he asked, his brow furrowing.

"I…I'm supposed to…to tell you to go over to the big oak tree," Roll said falteringly. Her hands kept clenching and unclenching at her sides, and her eyes were wide.

Protoman watched silently. He could see her body trembling, and wondered what could have scared her so badly.

"Can you tell me anything more?" Chaud asked quietly. Seeing the navi hesitate; then shake her head, he stowed away the PET and immediately set his eyes to searching for an oak tree. Seconds later, he had sighted his target and was on his way. Already, he was able to see that a man was seated on the ground beneath the tree's shade, casually leaning against it with his hat tipped down over his face and his hands folded over his stomach.

"Who are you?" Chaud said darkly once he'd arrived, his voice low to avoid attracting attention.

The man pushed the hat up slightly, and Chaud could see a smug grin on his face. The boy's fingers curled into fists.

"I'm the one who has the upper hand in our particular situation," said the man, his body continuing to remain relaxed.

"Where is she?" Chaud growled.

"With a few of my people, at the moment," the man replied. He pulled something out of his pocket and started toying with it. It was a pink PET. "Don't worry your pretty little head, Mr. Blaze. We didn't do anything except knock her out. And we won't do anything to her…so long as our conditions are met."

The boy lowered his eyebrows. "What conditions might those be?"

The man grinned. "I was hoping you'd ask."

XOXOXOX


	5. Chapter 5

A time later, another man joined Chaud and the first man.

"Everything ready, Sid?" said the first man.

"Sid" nodded in affirmation. "All set and ready to blow…I mean, go," said Sid, smiling nastily.

The first man groaned. "How can you make puns at a time like this?"

Sid shrugged. "I dunno, Rick. It just sorta…came out that way."

Rick rolled his eyes. "If you say so." Then he turned to Chaud, who glared at him. "What's with the sour face?" said Rick. "This will all be over soon enough, if you cooperate. Now, make the call."

Chaud gritted his teeth but did as he was told, pushing a few buttons on his PET. Within moments, Manuella had come onscreen.

"Chaud?" she said in surprise. "What is it?"

"There's…a situation," he said. "Maylu's been taken hostage."

"What!"

"The kidnapper's have a list of demands—" he began, but was cut off by the man in charge of the operation, who took the PET from him.

"Understand this," said Rick, maintaining his nonchalance despite the gravity of the circumstances. "If the Net Police send any of their little heroes on a rescue mission, we can and will blow up the entire Fitness Center, along with the girl we have hostage inside. All it will take is for me or one of my colleagues to hit a button, and the place will be up in flames before you can blink. And believe me, we'll know if any of your people have snuck into the building.

"I also ask," he continued, "that you set up a ring of police around the area as soon as possible. We wouldn't want to cause any unnecessary mess if some unfortunate passerby were to wander on to the scene, now would we?"

Chaud ceased to listen as the man began to explain the rest of the demands. He gazed at the Fitness Center intensely, as if he could somehow will it to give up the captive girl it held within itself. He felt completely helpless, and hated it. He couldn't lift a finger to save Maylu, because in doing so he would only sentence her to death. It was infuriating.

Minutes later, the Rick ended the transmission. Then he powered down Chaud's PET. Chaud could hear Protoman's cry of protest get cut off as the PET screen turned black.

The man turned to Chaud. "Now, then. What to do with you, Mr. Blaze…" He looked to his left and hollered, "Hey, Sid. Bring the shackles. We don't want this one getting any ideas."

Sid nodded and stepped over to a portable storage container. He pulled the lid open and rummaged around for a moment. A jingling, key-ring type sound could be heard as he lifted a set of chains out of the container. Shutting the lid once again, he came over to the boss and handed him the chains.

Rick looked at Chaud. "Sorry, kid. Can't have you pulling anything sneaky. Hold out your hands."

Chaud stared at the chains. He was just supposed let himself be shackled up?

Rick's eyes narrowed. "C'mon, Blaze. Do you really want to try my patience?"

Chaud gritted his teeth, feeling his body tense. But he didn't have a choice. He could not put Maylu's life in danger by allowing his pride to get in the way. He held out his hands in front of him and looked away as Rick snapped the manacles shut around his wrists.

The metal felt cold and heavy against his skin. It was going to be difficult to ignore his bindings. He had been hoping he could somehow distract himself from them, but their presence was too blatant. He looked down at them. Connecting the two, there was a thick metal bar that spanned the length of a few inches. Attached to this bar, coming out of the top, was a single, long chain.

Rick held this chain in his hands. He tugged Chaud closer to the trunk of the oak tree that they still stood under. Then, standing beneath a thick branch, he threw the chain up and over, grabbing it as it came back down. He pulled the length of chain until Chaud's hands had been raised above his head, and the boy's heels were just barely off the ground. He then held two of the links against each other and slipped a thick padlock through them, clamping it shut around them.

Rick stepped back to examine his handiwork. Satisfied, he turned his back on the boy and returned to his men.

XOXOXOX

"Boss, I'm bored," Sid grumbled. "Those cops sure do take their time making decisions."

"Maybe so," agreed Rick. "But then again, you've always been impatient."

Sid glanced at Chaud out of the corner of his eye. The boy's eyes were closed, and his chin rested against his chest. "Can I play with the kid?" he asked Rick, sounding hopeful.

Rick sighed. "I suppose I need to let you have _some_ way of venting that destructive energy of yours, lest you end up screwing up the plan somehow. But please, Sid, don't kill him." Sid's cruel grin spread from ear to ear, and he turned from his leader. He paused as Rick added, "And keep him conscious. We might need him."

Sid shrugged. He could do that.

Maybe.

XOXOXOX

As his intelligent mind continued to test out idea after plan after idea to find a way out of this situation, Chaud was roused from his meditative state by a light kick to his shin. His cat-like blue eyes opened, and he found himself looking at Sid.

"So, Sleeping Beauty wakes to a kick just as well as a kiss," said the man, sneering nastily.

"Yeah, and it wasn't worth it at all," said Chaud, closing his eyes again. "You're the ugliest Prince Charming I've ever seen."

A second later, he felt a sharp pain as Sid's booted foot connected with his side. He cringed.

"I may not be good looking," Sid snarled, "but I least I haven't been turned into a human piñata, pipsqueak."

"If someone's life wasn't on the line, your lot would never have been able to get me in the first place, you third-rate gangster."

This time, Chaud felt his breath being forced out of him as Sid threw a punch to his gut.

The boy sagged against his manacles slightly, gasping for air. "Boy," he gasped. "You must get a huge self-confidence boost from knocking around someone who's chained up and can't fight back."

"Actually," Sid replied as he grabbed a fistful of the boy's hair and yanked his head back, "if it wasn't so important to make sure you didn't try anything, I'd have let you down so you could fight me. I know who you are, and what you can do, and I'm not afraid of a challenge. But what the boss says goes, so for now, you get to play the part of my punching bag."

He released his grip on Chaud's hair and said, "Though it will be fun to see how you hold out. Your smart remarks are more than I'd expect from most other prisoners."

He punched the boy in the mouth, smiling with satisfaction as blood began to trickle out from between his lips.

However, as he prepared himself to strike again, Chaud suddenly jumped and slammed his feet into Sid's chest, knocking the man onto the ground. Surprised, Sid rubbed his chest where he'd been hit. Then he grinned. "Gotta admit, you've got spunk," he said. "I really will have to take you on in a fair fight sometime."

His leg whipped up and out, catching Chaud in the ribs. He could hear a strangled sound come from the boy's throat as his face contorted in pain. Sid could see sweat beginning to break out on his face. And yet still, as Chaud raised his head, panting, to look Sid in the eye…still, there was that defiance, blazing as strongly as when Sid had first seen him. Sid smirked. This was turning out to be more fun than he'd expected.

XOXOXOX


	6. Chapter 6

The time soon came, fortunately for Chaud, when Sid was called back to his job, as the Net Police were finally showing some signs of movement.

The boy was terribly battered. Various cuts in both his skin and clothing were testaments to Sid's sudden decision to pull out a knife to play with. His face was relatively bare of bruises, as his attacker had opted to go more often than not for his abdominal area and sides. He hung weakly from his chains, too worn out to hold himself up any longer.

Glancing briefly at Sid, he wondered when he'd get the chance to pay the man back. He hoped sooner than later. His eyes closed in exhaustion.

Which of course, caused him to miss was what was happening just a short distance away from him.

A small black hole had appeared out of nowhere, and a brown, mittened hand reached out from inside. On the ground, next to the storage container Sid had gotten the chains out of, rested two PETs; one red, one pink. An instant later, the pink one had disappeared into the hole, which then shrank away into nothing.

XOXOXOX

Maylu watched in surprise as a small dimensional area materialized around her. _'What good can that possibly do?' _she wondered. _'I don't have my PET with me, and anyway my hands are tied behind my back. I wouldn't be able to Cross Fuse like this…'_

Suddenly, she felt pressure on the ropes that bound her. A minute later, the ropes had been severed. She turned around and saw Rush smiling at her, halfway-inside his black hole. He'd gnawed the ropes through with his teeth.

The puppy yipped quietly and held out Maylu's pink PET to her. As soon as she'd taken it in her hands, the dog-virus jumped into the air and morphed into a ball of light, which then solidified into a Synchro Chip. Maylu's hand reached up and grabbed the chip out of the air. Without hesitation, she slid the chip into her PET.

"Begin Cross Fusion!" she cried. Pink light surrounded her as her personal terminal dissolved into pieces of data. Navi armor began to cover her body chunk by chunk.

"Mr. Famous!" said Maylu, as her Cross Fusion form became complete. Her PET was now a part of her, and thus she was able to use it to communicate much like a walkie-talkie. "Enlarge the dimensional area!"

XOXOXOX

Rick and his crew, in order to prevent anyone from sneaking inside the Fitness Center, had set up monitors outside, which were hooked up to the surveillance cameras that were already a part of the building's security, system.

The henchman who'd been assigned to watch the cameras, however, had been momentarily distracted by a comment hollered to him by one of the other men. He'd hollered something back, and the two had shared a brief conversation before returning to their jobs. He was just in time to see that the girl they'd been holding hostage had suddenly disappeared.

"Hey, Rick, c'mere a sec," he said, wisely refraining from allowing his voice or face to show that anything was wrong.

Rick strolled over to the screens. He knew instantly what the problem was, but he too kept a nonchalant appearance.

"So, our little bird has escaped the cage somehow…" he murmured. "Looks like we'll have to go with Plan B. Pity, and things were going so well…Hey Sid!" he called. "Front and center."

Sid responded obediently.

"Spread the word—very quietly, mind you, I don't want the message to be broadcast to any uninvited eavesdroppers—we're gonna have to switch to Plan B. As soon as the crew's been informed, load our little guest into the chopper. We're gonna have to make this fast. Once the Net Police figure out we've lost track of the hostage in the building, they'll be on us in the blink of an eye."

The henchman nodded and set to work immediately. Minutes later, subtle movement had begun to appear around the makeshift base of operations. Gear was being sorted through and shifted; men were checking through their utility belts and backpacks.

Sid was busy getting Chaud's chain down from the tree branch.

"What are you doing?" the boy asked, eyes narrow.

"Just transferring some cargo," Sid replied. Having retrieved the chain, he now began tugging at it as he walked forwards.

In his weakened state, Chaud had little ability to resist. He was forced to trot along behind Sid in order to avoid being dragged on the ground.

Before long, the boy saw that they were headed for a helicopter. He halted in his tracks.

"Whattsamatter, kid, haven't you ever seen a chopper before?" Sid asked in annoyance as he yanked roughly at the chain.

Chaud stumbled forwards and fought to regain his balance. He managed, but only just. As he was about to demand where they were going, a large explosion rocked the ground. Both he and Sid instinctively looked to the Fitness Center.

Already, flames were engulfing the structure, licking hungrily at it from the inside out.

Chaud stared in horror. What was going on? Had someone done something to anger Rick and his men? Had one of the explosives gone off by accident? Heck, did it even matter how it had happened? Maylu was still in there!

Maylu was…still in there…

The thought repeated itself as it sank in. Chaud felt his knees buckle.

'_No…' _he thought frantically. _'No…someone will save her…Lan will save her…He always does…' _As if on cue, a large dimensional area spread over the building.

He heard Sid grunt, and the next thing he knew, he was being tossed over the man's shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"Put me down," he growled, struggling to break free of the man's grasp.

But Sid was strong, and he wasn't covered in cuts and bruises. He took large strides towards the chopper as the other men from the crew began to also head in that direction.

Just then, a voice cried, "Take this, you oversized bully!"

A pink blur smacked into Sid at top speed, knocking both the man and his passenger to the ground. The next thing Chaud knew, he was being gently lifted into the air and carried away. He was too stunned for words.

"You okay?" said Cross-Fused Maylu, her forehead creased with worry. Her eyes examined him closely as she ran, cradling him in her arms. Her expression grew furious upon seeing his battered state. "Rrrr, those dirty…"

Seconds later, she had deposited him on a waiting medical stretcher in the safe company of the Net Police. Then she stalked over to Lan, who had Cross Fused himself by now.

She jabbed a finger at his chest symbol and snapped, "Lan, you can just sit this round out and watch while I pummel those guys myself."

Lan blinked in obvious astonishment as he watched his friend sprint back over towards the chopper, her anger written all over her features. Then he shook his head as if to clear it, and turned to Chaud.

Chaud could see Lan's concern for him.

"Looks like they got you pretty good," the shorter boy said, moving to stand near the stretcher. His brown eyes were worried. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, but I think I'll be feeling this tomorrow morning…" Chaud replied, wincing and putting a hand to his ribs.

Lan cringed. "Ouch. Sure makes me appreciate Cross Fusion armor."

"That makes two of us…" Chaud muttered, rubbing his sore flesh.

XOXOXOX

None of the gang members knew what hit them. One minute they were frantically trying to board the helicopter they had waiting for their getaway, and the next instant they were on the ground in a heap, being banged around by a girl in a pink dress and helmet.

"No one messes with my friends and gets away with it," she growled, kicking one man in the groin while punching another in the jaw. "You picked the wrong people to kidnap, and the wrong boy to hurt." She grabbed two more henchmen by the scruffs and banged their heads together, dropping them on top of one another on the ground. "So, any more of you losers want to try running away?"

At this point, all of the men were either unconscious or writhing on the ground in pain, including Sid and Rick--although these two in particular had received an extra beating.

Satisfied with her work, Maylu grabbed the backs of Rick's and Sid's shirts and proceeded to drag them along on the ground until they'd reached the police, who promptly put the men in handcuffs and loaded them into a police car.

"The rest of 'em are back over there," Maylu said to Manuella, jabbing a thumb over her shoulder. "You should find them all in a big pile on the ground."

Manuella nodded mutely, not really sure how to react to Maylu at the moment. She turned and transferred the information to a few of her officers, who were soon off to round up the rest of the criminals.

Maylu, on the other hand, finally allowed herself to de-Cross Fuse. She caught the PET as it fell towards her and then stooped to give Rush a warm hug. "Thanks, boy. You were great," she whispered to the puppy, who yipped happily and saluted her.

Then she stood, and her gaze traveled to the stretcher where she had left Chaud. To her surprise, he was no longer there. Her heartbeat sped up in alarm, until she saw Lan nearby, talking nonchalantly with Chief Kiefer.

"Lan, where'd Chaud go?" the girl asked, coming up beside him.

Lan shrugged. "He said he just wanted to walk a little. I think I saw him over by those police cars." He pointed them out to her.

Maylu nodded and trotted off in the direction he'd indicated. She hoped Chaud hadn't gone too far, especially since what he really should be doing was resting.

She found him behind one of the cars farthest away from the action, leaning against the car with one of his hands buried in his hair.

"Hey," she said softly.

His shoulders shot up to his ears.

Maylu nearly giggled at the startled gesture. So he hadn't heard her coming? But then her seriousness returned.

"Shouldn't you let a paramedic take a look at you?"

The boy kept his back turned, and it seemed as though he hadn't heard her. She felt butterflies begin to wreak havoc in her stomach, and wondered if she'd done something to upset him.

But then he turned to her, and she found something in his expression that she'd never seen before, though she wasn't quite sure what it was.

He just looked at her for a moment. Then, slowly, he extended his hand to her. Without even thinking twice, she put hers on top of his. Suddenly, his fingers closed around her hand, and he yanked her forwards, causing her to fall against his chest. An instant later, his arms were around her, and he pressed her against himself, despite the protests of his sore body.

Maylu felt herself lean into his embrace, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Because of the difference in their heights, her nose was buried in the cloth of his shirt. She inhaled slowly. The smoke from the explosion in the Fitness Center had permeated the clothing with its scent, but she could still smell a faint undertone of whatever cologne he'd put on that day.

"You sure know how to make a guy go out of his mind worrying about you…" Chaud muttered, his voice rough and quiet.

"You make it sound like I did it on purpose…" Maylu replied, her arms sliding around his waist as she snuggled closer to him. She could feel her cheeks flaming in embarrassment, but she couldn't help herself. She wanted to be near him, to touch him. She wanted to be held like this.

Chaud was still wondering why on earth he'd grabbed her like that. He felt like an idiot. It wasn't like he was generally an emotional person, and Maylu wasn't his girlfriend or anything. And yet his hand had acted as though it'd had a mind of its own, reaching out to her and pulling her in. It just seemed…natural. And he realized…he wanted to protect her. He wanted to hold her in his arms and keep her safe…always.

"So does this mean that Lan's out of the picture?" he murmured into her ear.

She chuckled softly. "What's it to you, Chaud?"

"Because if he's not out, I'll take him out myself." The words surprised him even as they left his mouth, but he knew them to be true.

"Oh you will, will you?" she said, smiling into his shirt. "…Don't worry. Lan left the picture back when you and I had our first study session."

Chaud found himself smiling as well.

"Good."

FIN


End file.
